The Wire comparisons have been beaten to the ground by now. In
\ncase you don’t know anything about the band Elastica, they
\ngenerated much publicity when they swiped a guitar tab off the 70s
\npunkish band Wire and used it for their hit song, “Connection”.<\/p>\n
Bands like Elastica and Rancid, who have waned storms of Clash
\ncomparisons, make an art form off of a sample. Sure, you can
\nbastardize a band, like what Bush does to Nirvana or No Doubt does
\nto Bow-Wow-Wow, but it takes a truely talented band to come up with
\na totally original sound, out of someone else’s work.<\/p>\n
Credit Elastica for knowing how to write a hook.
\nElastica<\/i> is packed with them. Bands can sample other bands
\nall they want, but when it comes down to it, if the band doesn’t
\nhave the talent to come up with an original hook, they’re shit out
\nof luck. It helps that Elastica can come up with a bubblegum ditty
\nlike “Car Song” and “Line Up”. Much help is due to the duling
\nguitar musicianship of Donna Matthews and Justine Frischmann.<\/p>\n
Frischmann also has another trump card she uses throughout
\nElastica<\/i>: her voice. Though she may sing in a monotone, she
\nhas a damn sexy voice that never seems to get boring after repeated
\nlistens. True to punk form,
\nElastica<\/i> has 16 supurb examples of hard edged brit pop and
\nclocks in at about 40 minutes. Get in, get a hook started, sing the
\nverse and hop on to the next song.<\/p>\n
Elastica oozes with attitude. Aside from Frischmann’s pouty
\nvoice, drummer Justin Welch and former bassist Annie Holland
\nprovide an effective rhythm section. It’s an album full of guilty
\npleasures. A type of album you put on while you’re driving to a
\nparty in a rented tux. You may be falt broke, but you’re “macking”
\nit for the moment. Songs that go along with this mood include the
\nsuperficial “Car Song” and the sway-like groove of “Hold Me
\nNow”.<\/p>\n
The mood does turn to dark towards the end of the album. The
\nmost poingant song on the album, “Never Here” tells the story of a
\nrelationship that is crashing due to stagnation. “Too much TV and
\ncurry, too much time spent on ourselves,” Frischmann sings. Towards
\nthe end, she accuses her boyfriend of ignoring her by singing, “You
\nwere far too busy writing rhymes that didn’t scan.” Most
\nheartbreaking is when she turns the blame on herself by altering
\nthat line to, “I was far too busy writing rhymes that’ll never
\nscan.”<\/p>\n
The bouncy rockers and the personal confessions come to a train
\nwreck in the song, “Stutter”. That’s Elastica’s brightest spot on
\ntheir album. The topic of the song is enough to make most males
\nturn down volume:impotence. But the hook and the chorus are so damn
\ncatchy, you can’t help but crank the volume as Frischmann sneers,
\n“Is it something you lack\/while I’m flat on my back\/Is there
\nsomething that I can do for you?”<\/p>\n
Hard to believe, but it’s been about four years since the band
\nunleashed this album onto the public. With Holland gone and
\nFrischmann making repeated changes for the new album, you wonder if
\nthat band may be suffocating on the pressure of following up an
\nexcellent album that did indeed break a few musical barriers. Even
\nif the band were to break up now,
\nElastica<\/i> is enough of a testament to leave for the 90s. A
\nmixture of good time rockers and moody come-down songs,
\nElastica<\/i> is like a soundtrack to a really good all night
\nparty.<\/p>\n
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